Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Roblox Corporation, saying the online gaming site is “flagrantly ignoring state and federal online safety laws while deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform.”
“We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to continue operating as digital playgrounds for predators where the well-being of our kids is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” Paxton said Nov. 8 in announcing the lawsuit. “Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen.
“Any corporation that enables child abuse will face the full and unrelenting force of the law.”
Paxton’s office says Roblox “has become a breeding ground for predators.”
“Children in Texas have been repeatedly exposed to sexually explicit content, exploitation, and grooming because Roblox chose to put pixel pedophiles and corporate profit over the safety of Texas children,” the office said in a press release.
Paxton has taken several big tech and social media companies to task. He filed a similar lawsuit against TikTok. He also recently file a lawsuit claiming Tylenol causes autism.
Roblox is a free online platform that hosts millions of user-created games. In 20 years, the California-based company has become a $70 billion business.
It has been the subject of many lawsuits across the country filed by individuals – including some in Texas – and states claiming adults posing as minors have exposed children to sexually explicit content.
The company has stated that it uses filters, human moderators, and parental controls to protect minors playing the game, but at least one lawsuit has called those assurances “knowingly and recklessly false.”
The company says it has strong protocols to remove bad actors and protect users, which include controls to allow parents to limit how their children communicate and access content.
“We share Attorney General Paxton’s commitment to keeping kids and teens safe online,” the company said in a statement. “We are disappointed that, rather than working collaboratively with Roblox on this industry-wide challenge and seeking real solutions, the AG has chosen to file a lawsuit based on misrepresentations and sensationalized claims.”
